Many consumers find it difficult to keep track of their financial transactions. This is particularly true for senior citizens and other consumers who may have diminished ability to accurately track what payments they have made, and the amounts of those payments. In many cases, consumers who find it hard to track their financial transactions, for whatever reason, rely on others, such as friends, family, agents, or even the potential payees of financial transactions, to help them ensure they are paying their bills and invoices, and that the proper amounts are being paid.
Unfortunately, due to their diminished ability to accurately track payments they have made, and/or by relying on others to help them make and track payments, these consumers become susceptible to various forms of payment fraud including, but not limited to: overpayment on a bill or invoice; making multiple payments for the same bill or invoice; making payment for services and/or products not delivered; and/or simply fictitious payments.
Given that, by definition, these consumers have diminished ability to accurately track payments they have made, and/or are relying on others to help them make and track payments, it is often the case that these consumers either lack the capability to identify payment fraud, or lack the motivation to monitor and/or double check the activities of those they have entrusted to help them make and track payments.
Given that the population in the United States is aging rapidly with the ascension of “baby boomers” into the ranks of the retired and senior citizen class, the problem of fraudulent bill and invoice payments is rapidly becoming a national emergency. Currently, 26 percent of all fraud perpetrated in the United States is perpetrated against consumers that are 65 or older and the estimated cost of financial fraud in the United States is 40 to 50 billion annually.
Consequently, there is currently a long standing technical problem in the bill and invoice payment system arts in that there is currently no user friendly, simple to implement, and highly accurate way to detect fraudulent bill and invoice payment activity that monitors and processes financial transaction data from multiple sources of financial transaction data associated with a consumer in an integrated and holistic manner.
What is needed is a technical solution that is capable of detecting fraudulent bill and invoice payment activity conducted through any one of multiple sources of financial transaction data associated with a consumer in an integrated and holistic manner.